Shipping and display container



Dec. 21, 1965 R. A. DE 'FEO SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CONTAINER Filed Dec. 16, 1963 FIG.2.

L 0 m m E MD V V mA D 4 M F m w 4 4 5 4 W 1 8 m M ll 3 VI\ 3 u 6 G 4/ 4 G F (I H ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,224,568 SHIPPING AND DISPLAY CONTAINER Richard A. De Feo, Ardmore, Pa., assignor to Bayulr Cigars Incorporated, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Maryland Filed Dec. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 331,061 4 Claims. (Cl. 20644) This invention relates to a container suitable for the shipment and display of cartons of merchandise, for example, S-packs which contain five cigars.

When small cartons of merchandise, such as -packs of cigars are displayed standing up one in front of the other in a display container, the display frequently becomes disorderly after a number of cartons have been removed since there is a tendency for one or more cartons to tumble into the space created by the removal of cartons. It is the central object of this invention to provide a display container for cartons having means to hold the cartons erect and prevent their tumbling into empty space created by the removal of some of the cartons.

The invention and its objects will be clarified on reading the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a container in accordance with the invention in display position and containing cartons of cigars;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the container of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the container of FIGURE 1.

A container 2 in accordance with the invention may be made from a blank of any suitable sheet material such as, for example, heavy paper stock, cardboard, fiberboard and the like, by cutting or stamping with folding being facilitated by crease scoring or cut scoring.

Container 2 has a rear panel 4 with an outer portion 6 and an inner portion 8 adhesively secured together. A top panel 10 is hingedly connected to rear panel 4 along a fold line indicated at 12. Side panel 14 is hingedly connected to portion 6 of rear panel 4 and is hingedly connected to front panel 16. Side panel 18 is hingedly con nected to front panel 16 and is hingedly connected to a flap 20 which is secured to portion 6 of rear panel 4 by an adhesive (not shown).

A flap 24 is hingedly connected to side panel 14 and projects downwardly and towards side panel 18. Similarly, a flap 26 is hingedly connected to side 18 and projects downwardly and towards side panel 14. Flaps 24 and 26 are mirror images. Each of the flaps 24 and 26 are provided with serrated lower edges 28 which slope downwardly from the rear of the container towards the front of the container. Each of the flaps at its rear end is provided with a tab 30 which is partially severed from the remainder of the flap at the line indicated at 31 and is adhesively secured against the adjacent side of the container.

A bottom panel 32 is hingedly secured to side panel 18 and is connected along a fold line 34 to a bottom panel 36. Fold line 34 substantially bisects the adjacent corner of the container. A bottom panel 38 is hingedly connected to side panel 14 and is hingedly connected along a fold line 40 to a bottom panel 41. Fold line 40 substantially bisects the adjacent corner of the container. A bottom panel 42 is hingedly connected to front panel 16 ice and adhesively secured to bottom panel 36 by adhesive 43. A bottom panel 44 is hingedly connected to portion 6 of rear panel 4 and adhesively secured to bottom panel 41 by adhesive 44.

As thus described, the container is readily collapsible by exerting pressure on the diagonally opposite container corners indicated at 52 and 54 in FIGURE 5 to cause the bottom panels to fold upwardly. The container may be set up again into the display condition by the reverse action.

The container 2 is adapted to contain cartons 52 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 4. Cartons 52 may, for example, be packs containing cigars 54 viewable through a transparent window 56. Normally, the cartons 52 in the front of the container will be removed first and may be removed, for example, until only the two cartons 52 shown in FIGURE 4 are remaining. The remaining cartons 52 are held upright by means of flaps 24 and 26 which frictionally engage the carton due to the fact that they tend to return to the position shown in FIGURE 3 from the position in which they are held by the action of the cartons. Since each of flaps 24 and 26 have their lower edges sloping downwardly from the rear of the container towards the front of the container, the distance between the lower edges of the flaps absent the presence of the cartons, i.e. in the condition shown in FIGURE 3 decreases from the rear of the container towards the front of the container. This aspect accentuates the gripping action of the flaps 24 and 26 to prevent cartons in the rear of the container from falling forwardly. The serrations on the lower edges of each of flaps 24 and 26 tend to mechanically engage the forward corners of the cartons and further assist in arresting any tendency for cartons in the rear of the container to fall forwardly.

The above described embodiment is exemplary only and is not intended to be limiting.

What is claimed is:

1. A display container for the reception of cartons of merchandise comprising:

a bottom,

a rear panel,

a front panel,

a pair of spaced side panels having substantially parallel upper edges,

and an integral flap hingedly connected to the upper edge of each side panel and tending to extend downwardly and towards the other side panel,

the inner edge of each flap being serrated and sloping downwardly from the rear thereof to the front thereof and the flaps presenting at rest a gradually narrowing opening therebetween to provide for increasing resistance to the forward motion of said cartons.

2. A container in accordance with claim 1 in which the rear edge of each flap terminates short of the rear panel.

3. A collapsible display container for the reception of cartons of merchandise comprising:

a rear panel,

a pair of spaced side panels having substantially paralled upper edges and hingedly connected to the rear panel,

a front panel hingedly connected to the side panels,

a bottom panel hingedly connected to each side panel,

a bottom panel hingedly connected to each of the front and rear panels,

one of the bottom panels connected to a side panel being hingedly connected to the bottom panel hingedly connected to the rear panel along a line substantially bisecting the adjacent container corner,

the other bottom panel connected to the other side panel being hingedly connected to the bottom panel hingedly connected to the front panel along a line substantially bisecting the adjacent container corner, and an integral flap hingedly connected to the upper edge of each side panel and tending to extend downwardly and towards the other side panel, the inner edge of each flap being serrated and sloping downwardly from the rear thereof to the front thereof and the flaps presenting at rest a gradually narrowing opening therebetween to provide for increasing resistance to the forward motion of said cartons. 4. A container in accordance with claim 3 in which the rear edge of each flap terminates short of the rear panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1894 Brown 22934 4/1935 Reed 20645.14 8/1939 Wurzburg 20673 1/1944 Lovejoy 20645.14 12/1945 Meller 206-44 11/1959 Malrnad 229-41 4/1961 Arnatel 20665 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/1940 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISPLAY CONTAINER FOR THE RECEPTION OF CARTONS OF MERCHANDISE COMPRISING: A BOTTOM, A REAR PANEL, A FRONT PANEL, A PAIR OF SPACED SIDE PANELS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL UPPER EDGES, AND AN INTERNAL FLAP HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF EACH SIDE PANEL AND TENDING TO EXTEND DOWNWARDLY AND TOWARDS THE OTHER SIDE PANEL, THE INNER EDGE OF EACH FLAP BEING SERRATED AND SLOPING 